Aamer vows to recover from ‘worst day of my life’

Pakistan quick Mohammad Aamer has
promised to come back from the “worst day of my life” after
receiving a five-year ban from cricket for his part in a spot-
fixing scandal.

An International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption
tribunal in Doha on Saturday also handed out longer bans to
former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and seamer Mohammad Asif for
the roles they played in bowling deliberate no-balls during last
year’s Test against England at Lord’s.

Britain’s News of the World tabloid alleged the three
cricketers had colluded in a betting scam organised by UK-based
agent Mazhar Majeed.

Prior to the scandal, Aamer was regarded as one of the
hottest properties in world cricket after the teenage left-arm
quick had troubled both Australia and England with some superb
displays of swing bowling.

And the thought that at the age of 18 his career might be
over was almost too much for Aamer to comprehend.

“What can I say about my feelings?,” Aamer told the BBC on
Monday.

“When someone is seeing in front of him the end of his
future, his career, then that is the worst day of one’s life.

“Cricket is the most important thing in my life because I
left my studies for cricket, I was so passionate about it.

“My entire family depends on me and I depend upon cricket so
the entire thing will be upset by this decision.

“We (Aamer and his lawyer) have the option to appeal which
we will exercise.

“About the future, I will never lose hope. I have never done
that in my life.

“I firmly believe that in all adversity something good
always comes out.

“I’ll always take it as something which will propel me to do
better and I’ll do everything in my power to make a strong
comeback.

“I have firm faith that God must have some lessons for me to
learn from all of this, like in a player’s career when he has a
bad patch, I’ll take it in the same way and I’ll try to work
hard, make a comeback, and learn good things out of these bad
days.”

Butt too has indicated he wishes to appeal but Asif on
Monday was still considering his options, according to a
statement issued by his London-based lawyers, Addleshaw Goddard.

“Mohammad Asif has co-operated fully with the International
Cricket Council’s (ICC) investigation and is very disappointed
and upset by the decision it reached,” the statement said.

“Together with his legal representatives, he is now
considering his response and will not be commenting further due
to the ongoing criminal proceedings.”

On Friday, British prosecutors charged the three players as
well as Majeed with criminal corruption offences and summoned
them to appear in a London court on March 17.

The players cann appeal against the ICC bans to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.